Dear Missionary Lady,
Greetings in the name of our faithful God. It is a great wonder and comfort that God does not change even when the failures of men would seem to merit adjustments on God’s part.
Psalm 89 uses the word “faithfulness,” attributed to God, six times (verses 1, 2, 5, 8, 24, and 33), and “faithful,” attributed to God’s work, one time (v. 37). The focus on faithfulness begins in the first verse. “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.”
The specific focus (example) of God’s faithfulness in this psalm is His covenant with David. “I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant” (v. 3). God loved David and made some great promises to him. Those promises had long-lasting implications that extended far beyond the lifetime of David himself.
We know that God loved David’s heart for Him. Because of the heart of David toward God, we might not be surprised that God would respond with great blessings and promises. What might surprise us is that the wickedness of some of David’s descendants did not nullify the promises. Some descendants of David loved and followed God, but some of them were far removed from a heart that sought God.
God knew this unfaithfulness would come, and He declared ahead of time what the consequences would be. “If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips” (vs. 30-34).
The ungodly in the line would face consequences for their choices, but the ungodly men would not change the faithfulness of God. In the verses above, God repeatedly and firmly expresses that He will still do what He has said He will do.
I find this unswerving faithfulness of God to be personally quite encouraging. Just like David’s descendants (and sometimes David himself), I don’t always follow the right way. I don’t always do the right thing. Sometimes my heart grows cold and apathetic. Sometimes I am just drifting through. I hope that like David, my heart desire will still be rightly aligned, but the truth is that I am not always faithful throughout the course of life.
God has not made the Davidic promises to me, but He has made promises to me. In spite of my failures and unworthiness, God does not change. He always is who He always is. His promises are still true and reliable. I might face consequences for my failures and straying, but the bottom line is that I have a faithful, loving Heavenly Father who will keep me. He is patient. He understands my weakness, and it causes Him to respond in compassion. He doesn’t overlook my failures, but His first inclination is to be patient and longsuffering, while He urges me to be renewed and realigned. (Open and prolonged rebellion are another story, but God is gracious with the shortcomings of those who have a sincere heart to follow Him.)
So even when I am not all that I should be, God still loves me. God is still with me. His grace is still enough. He still gives His comfort. He still works on completing His work in me. He still reserves my spot in Heaven. He still gives me His Spirit. When we are not at our best, God always is! Thank God for His perfect faithfulness to imperfectly faithful people.
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
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